A Special Weapon Reward

Everyone stared in disbelief at Xiao Ning, who had suddenly stood up.

"Xiao Ning, what are you doing?"

Xiao Yu hurriedly tugged at his sleeve and shook her head at him.

But Xiao Ning shook her off and shook his head back.

"Sis, I just want to test this good-for-nothing's strength."

As he spoke, he had already climbed onto the stage, looking down at Xiao Yan with contempt in his eyes.

"Haven't you advanced to the eighth rank? Let me see whether your strength has been watered down."

The strength Xiao Mo had revealed had already made plenty of people shrink back. They no longer dared to target their little group.

They had all realized that neither Xiao Mo nor Xiao Yan was easy to handle. The two often ate and drank together, and they had even advanced to the eighth rank together.

Xiao Mo was already such a difficult opponent. Xiao Yan, the former genius, might well have recovered his strength, which would surely make him even harder to deal with.

Everyone around them had shifted their sights to other targets. No one had expected Xiao Ning to have the courage to challenge Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan sighed, while Xiao Xun'er stuck out her tongue in gleeful amusement.

"Brother Xiao Yan, he's picking you as the soft persimmon to squeeze."

Xiao Mo stood silently at the side, his expression grave as he watched the stage. Inside, however, he was shouting wildly.

Holy crap, holy crap! Awesome! Thanks for the reward, Brother Xiao Ning! You're truly rain arriving just in time!

The system chimed in Xiao Mo's ears.

[Ding! New mission activated. Help Xiao Yan settle the fight within three moves and amaze the crowd to receive the special weapon, the Frostcold Sword!]

Xiao Mo practically drooled. This was the first time the system had offered him a weapon.

The Frostcold Sword sounded like a perfect fit for him. He was determined to get it.

Besides, with Xiao Ning's measly strength, how could he possibly stand against Xiao Yan? All Xiao Mo had to do now was sit back and wait for his reward.

Xiao Yan sighed and stood up, preparing to step onto the stage.

Seeing this, Xiao Yu shouted angrily at Xiao Ning onstage.

"You idiot! Do you not want to qualify? Pick someone weaker! Why would you challenge Xiao Yan?"

Xiao Ning hesitated slightly. Just then, Xiao Zhan spoke from the viewing stand.

"The match hasn't begun yet. Xiao Ning, you still have a chance to change your mind."

With a way out offered to him, Xiao Ning looked hesitantly toward the edge of the arena, unsure whether he should step down.

Xiao Mo immediately grew anxious. If this fellow left the stage, what would happen to his reward?

Without hesitation, he raised his voice and shouted toward the stage.

"Go, Xiao Yan! You could knock a guy like Xiao Ning flat with one punch! Finish him quickly so we can go celebrate!"

His words immediately earned him quite a few icy stares. The pressure mounted, and he had no desire to draw so much attention, but he had no choice if he wanted the reward.

He could only swallow, suppress the unease in his heart, and continue cheering Xiao Yan on.

Xiao Yan wanted to cry but had no tears. This senior fellow disciple of his never took anything seriously. Wasn't he turning Xiao Yan into the target of every arrow?

Xiao Ning had already been planning to step down, but upon hearing those words, he spun around and glared fiercely at Xiao Yan.

"Pretty arrogant, aren't you? You look down on me, huh?"

"?!!"

Xiao Yan was speechless. Xiao Mo had been the one provoking him. What did that have to do with Xiao Yan? How had the blame ended up dumped on his head?

He opened his mouth to argue.

"I didn't."

But before he could say anything else, he was cut off.

"Come on, Xiao Yan. Let me see just how strong you really are!"

Below the stage, a trace of amusement flashed through Xiao Mo's eyes.

Young people simply couldn't endure taunts and provocation. Once their hot blood boiled over, it became a burden that dragged them down instead.

Xiao Ning had clearly let the provocation go to his head. Regardless of his own strength, he was determined to fight Xiao Yan today.

Xiao Xun'er looked at Xiao Mo in puzzlement.

A seed of doubt took root in her heart. He usually seemed so mild-tempered that almost no amount of provocation could anger him.

He also usually followed behind Xiao Yan, barely making his presence felt. Yet not only had he displayed remarkable strength today, he had even taken the initiative to provoke Xiao Ning onstage. It was as though he had become a different person.

How strange. Why has his temperament changed?

Xiao Xun'er wondered for only a moment before turning back to the stage.

She had no time to worry about why Xiao Mo had changed. She only wanted to see whether Brother Xiao Yan would get hurt or bullied.

Xiao Mo stared intently at the stage, silently waiting for Xiao Yan to shine and knock Xiao Ning to the ground with a single punch.

At that moment, however, Xiao Ning lowered his head, a concealed smile curling his lips.

Before stepping onto the stage, he had deliberately taken a potion that could briefly boost his strength.

He had originally thought the potion would help him meet the strength requirement in the test, but he had still been eliminated.

Now he was full of anger with nowhere to vent it. This was the perfect chance to try his fists on Xiao Yan, whom he had always disliked.

The two stood on the stage, and the spectators in the stands fell silent, waiting to see what they would do.

Xiao Yan quietly let out a deep breath. Then he suddenly clenched his fist, and fire burst from his hand.

A fireball appeared in his palm. The next instant, flames enveloped his fist.

Xiao Ning also began circulating his Dou Qi, coating his knuckles with it.

But the moment he made his move, Xiao Mo sensed something wrong from below the stage.

What is that?

Strands of black Dou Qi faintly emerged around Xiao Ning, winding about him like fine threads.

Those threads carried an extremely strange Dou Qi that seemed to contain a hint of icy cold.

Something's off. There's a problem.

Xiao Mo immediately realized something was wrong and looked up at Xiao Zhan, seated directly above the stage.

His expression was clearly grave as well. Several times, he seemed about to raise his hand to stop the fight, but for some unknown reason, he lowered it again.

Strange. Far too strange.

Xiao Mo realized there was something wrong with Xiao Ning, especially his eyes. They glimmered with a dark gray light, flashing with a venomous malice no one else had noticed.

"Eight Extremes Collapse!"

Xiao Yan clenched his fist and hurled it at Xiao Ning, the blazing punch driving fiercely toward his chest.

Xiao Ning darted aside to evade it. At the same time, he clenched his own fist, turned, and punched at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Mo abruptly sprang to his feet.

Their fists collided with a sky-shaking boom. The tremendous blast hurled each of them half a meter backward.

"Something's wrong. How can he use Eight Extremes Collapse?"

Everyone was stunned.

The two had clearly used identical moves, but Xiao Ning's Eight Extremes Collapse was strange. Rather than blazing flames, streaks of gray smoke flickered around it.

Amid the smoke, Xiao Yan rose from the ground, his gaze immediately growing wary.

What's going on with this guy? His strength is almost equal to mine, so why didn't he qualify during the test?